She Will Be Loved
by bluestreaker14
Summary: Troy loves Gabriella and he’d do anything to make sure she’s ok. So when the 18-year-old slips into a depression and her boyfriend is never around enough to care, Troy will go to the ends of the earth and back to save Gabriella from herself.


**yay!! the first chapter is finally out!! lol! for all my youtube friends, i know you've been waiting a long time for this and i thank you soooooooo much for all your patience!! i know you were really looking forward to this so i wanted to make it awesome!! i hope this was worth the wait!!  
ok, i do have a trailer up on youtube for this story. if you wanna watch it, the link's in my profile!  
so, enough of my babbling!! on with the story!! lol!**

The rain was pouring down on the city of Albuquerque. Gabriella Montez sat alone in her room, watching the rain splash against her window. She swallowed hard, but a single tear still escaped her eyes. That single tear caused more tears and before long, the tears just wouldn't stop.

Someone took hold of her hands. She looked up and saw her best friend, Troy Bolton. He was soaked as if he'd been standing outside for hours. The water dripped onto her forehead and she blinked as each cold droplet splashed against her.

Troy wiped both the tears and the water away and pulled her into a hug. She didn't care if he was soaked. She just needed him to hold her. "What's wrong, Gabi?" he whispered as he rubbed her back.

"My parents are gone again," she mumbled as she made small circles on his shirt, the fabric wrapping around her tiny finger.

Troy stroked her hair. "Calm down, Gabs. It's ok," he soothed.

"No it's not." She pulled away from him and stood up. She began pacing around her room. "My parents are _never_ home! They're always out doing god knows what! They focus too much on their jobs! And Ryan…" Gabriella stopped and looked at Troy, who was now staring down at his feet.

This was the only complicated part of their relationship. Troy loved her. And she knew that. But she was dating Ryan Evans.

"Ryan works too much on his acting career to really put effort into caring about me," Gabriella finished, a little less forcefully than she was before.

"Then why are you still with him?" Troy asked, standing up.

"Because Troy, _I_ still care about him," Gabriella replied, pointing to herself.

Troy nodded in understanding and looked back down at the ground. "So, um, you gonna be ok?" he asked, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine," Gabriella replied. "Thanks, Troy."

"Anytime," he replied. He walked forward, gave her a quick, tight hug, and left the way he came in; the balcony.

Gabriella stared at the balcony long after he was gone. Being in his arms felt so right yet so wrong. She knew her small childhood crush still lingered in her heart but it wasn't strong enough for her to leave Ryan for Troy. She cared about Ryan. If Troy couldn't accept that…

Gabriella sighed and laid down on her bed. She crawled under the covers, curled into a ball, and fell asleep.

Little did she know, she had her own guardian angel. He wouldn't leave until her parents returned. He sat in her tree for hours on end, just watching her, making sure she was ok. Sharpay said 'emotionally unstable' was a good way to describe Gabriella. And he didn't want to risk something happening to her because no one was ever around enough to care.

But Troy cared.

Everyone said he was wasting his time. He never listened. He'd live his entire life without her if it meant she was happy. He'd die at her feet if it meant she was safe. She was his world, even if she was only the baby sister she'd always been.

He didn't think it was enough, though. He wanted to be the one to love her. He didn't want to have to hide in her tree by her balcony just to make sure she was ok. He wanted to be able to do that everyday standing beside her, holding her, loving her.

But it wouldn't happen.

Troy looked away from Gabriella and looked downwards, fighting back tears. He swallowed hard in order to stop the tears. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. As he felt the tears coming, he squeezed his eyes harder. But the moment he opened his eyes, the tears fell. And once they fell, he knew he would never stop them.

He didn't know how long it took but eventually, he heard the slow rumble of a car engine in the distance. The car neared the Montez house and a few minutes later, Troy heard the front door open and slam shut.

Gabriella jumped and awoke. Troy had a sudden urge to rush back inside but he fought it and sunk deeper into the shadows of the branches.

Gabriella's bedroom door opened and her mother poked her head inside the room.

"Sorry, sweetie. Did we wake you?" she whispered.

Gabriella nodded.

Mrs. Montez walked into the room and sat on her daughter's bed. "I'm sorry we were gone so late. Emergency meeting at the office," she explained.

"It's ok," Gabriella replied.

Mrs. Montez smiled, kissed Gabriella's forehead, and left.

Gabriella laid back down. She wiggled uncomfortably, feeling as if someone was watching her. She turned over and looked out at her balcony. She didn't see anything. Looking closer, she thought she saw two bright eyes reflected in the moonlight, but she figured it was just an animal.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Exhausted, Troy tossed his algebra book into his locker and leaned against the cold metal. Chad came over to him.

"Late night?" he questioned.

"You could say that," Troy replied.

"Please tell me you didn't camp out in Gabi's tree again," Chad said rather desperately.

"Ok then. I won't," Troy stated as he turned back to his locker.

"Dude, what's been up with you lately? It seems as if you only care about Gabi now," Chad pointed out.

"Well someone's gotta," Troy snipped.

Chad rolled his eyes. "You aren't the only one who cares about her," he said.

"I love her, Chad," Troy reminded. "This is something I need to do." He slammed his locker shut and walked away

Gabriella stood at her locker, slowly pulling out the books she needed for class. Someone came over and kissed her cheek. She turned and saw her boyfriend, Ryan Evans.

* * *

"Hey, Gabi," he greeted.

"Hey, Ryan. What's up?" she asked.

"Just thought I'd escort my beautiful girlfriend to class," Ryan replied, extending his arm.

Gabriella smiled and linked arms with him. She closed her locker.

"Ryan!"

Both turned and saw Sharpay rushing towards them.

"What's up, Shar?" Ryan asked.

"Rye, Ms. Darbus called for an emergency meeting in the auditorium. Come on. We gotta go," Sharpay said urgently and she began pulling on her brother's arm.

Ryan looked down at Gabriella. "Sorry, Gabi. I gotta go," he said. Without another word, Sharpay dragged Ryan down the hallway.

Gabriella stood there, sadness in her eyes.

She felt someone slowly take hold of her hand. Looking next to her, she saw Troy. She smiled, knowing that there was at least someone there to walk her to class.

"Mind if I take over?" he questioned.

"Not at all," Gabriella replied.

Troy smiled and, hand-in-hand, the pair walked down the hallway.

"Gabs, you ok?" Troy asked suddenly, looking down at her.

Gabriella looked up, staring into his bright blue eyes that were filled with worry and concern. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" she questioned.

"Well, after last night, I just thought that…"

"Troy, I even told you last night that I was fine. I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself," Gabriella cut in.

Troy bit his lower lip. "Um…ok then."

Gabriella felt bad for snapping at him. But how many times did she have to tell him she was fine before he finally figured it out that she _was_ fine? Sure Ryan had other priorities and her parents had their work. But all that caused her to be able to take care of herself.

But it never hurts to have help…

When they got to Gabriella's next class, Troy stopped her in the doorway.

"Look, I know you're gonna get mad at me for asking this but are you sure you're fine? I mean, when Ryan ran off you looked like you were about to burst into tears," Troy stated.

Gabriella sighed. "Can we talk in private? During lunch? In our spot?" she asked.

Troy smiled lightly and nodded. "Of course. See ya then," he said. He kissed her forehead and left.

Gabriella closed her eyes tightly to keep tears from falling. Troy was right. She did want to cry. But she was at school. The smallest tear would either cause mockery or everyone would panic because Gabriella was crying.

Yes, everyone knew something was going on with Gabriella, Troy, and Ryan. They weren't exactly sure what but they knew that whatever it was made Gabriella cry often. So if they had the chance to help, they would. But Gabriella was making that very difficult. She either only cried at home when her parents were gone or in front of Troy. Other than that, she'd been doing a good job of holding the tears back.

She slowly entered the classroom and took her seat near the back of the class. She liked the back. No one noticed her. Just the way she liked things.

* * *

Troy reached his next class and plopped down in his seat, literally too exhausted to even move.

Chad came in and sat down in front of Troy. "So, dude, you feeling better?" he asked.

Troy opened his eyes and looked at Chad. He shrugged. "I am so exhausted you have no idea," he mumbled as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes once again.

Chad shoved him, causing him to nearly fall out of his seat. "Sleep later. You can't nap here. You'll probably get beaten," he stated, half joking, half serious.

"Chad, I'm not in the mood for jokes," Troy complained.

"I wasn't joking."

Troy looked at Chad, who had a very serious face on. After a few seconds of staring at each other, the two began laughing.

"Anyways, dude, what're you doing later? I was thinking that you, me, Jase, and Zeke could go get some pizza. The four of us haven't hung out in awhile," Chad stated.

Troy's mind wondered to Gabriella. What was she doing today? Were her parents going to be gone again? Was Ryan going to back out at the last minute? Or would he just completely forget about her, leaving her heartbroken once again?

"Troy!"

Troy shook his head and looked at Chad. "Huh?"

"You zoned out. What's up?" Chad asked.

"Oh, uh…nothing. Nothing, just thinking," Troy replied.

"About Gabi?"

"Uh…no, no. About if I have anything going on today."

"Sure."

Troy rolled his eyes and looked down at his desk, where he began doodling in his notebook.

Chad shook his head and turned around. How could someone be that difficult?

* * *

School was over and students were filing out of school so quickly, you'd think the place were on fire. It was Friday. People wanted to get home and fast.

Gabriella was lagging behind everyone else, not the least bit excited to get home. Ryan already left with the crowd and she was alone in the empty hallway. She sighed and closed her locker door before heading down the hall.

"Hey Gabi!"

Gabriella groaned inwardly. She wasn't in the mood for this.

She turned around and looked at Troy as he came over to her. "What?" she asked rather coldly.

Troy was taken aback by her tone. "Whoa. Hey there. You ok?" he asked, setting a hand gently on her arm.

She brushed his hand away. "Yeah I'm fine. Just tired," she replied.

"Um…ok then. You want me to drive you home?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No. I feel like walking."

"Alright. See ya later," Troy said and he walked away.

Gabriella let out a sharp breath. Why was Troy suddenly getting on her nerves? Oh yeah! That's right! He's all up in her business when she really doesn't want anyone talking to her at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriella headed off down the hall. She stepped outside into the fresh air, the bright sun shining down on her from the clear blue sky. But even with the sun bright and the sky clear, she still felt cold and her skies seemed grey.

_What's happening to me?_ she thought desperately as she left the school grounds and headed home.

* * *

Troy ran a hand through his hair as he climbed into his car. Was he pushing too much? Was that why she was suddenly so cold towards him? Or was it something else? Whatever it was, it was changing Gabriella. And Troy didn't like it.

He climbed into his car and turned it on. As he was just about to pull out of the parking lot, a bright pink convertible pulled up beside him.

"Hey, Hotshot!"

Troy looked at the girl in the car, who happened to be Sharpay. "Oh, hey Sharpay," he said rather unenthusiastically.

"What's up with you?" Sharpay asked.

Troy shrugged. "I've got a lot going on right now," he replied.

"Would it have anything to do with my brother's so-called girlfriend?"

"'So-called'? What do you mean 'so-called'?"

"Well, it's not like the two are actually dating. Ryan's…"

"An ass?" Troy offered.

"I was gonna say annoying, promise-breaking jerk but that works too."

Troy chuckled. "Look, I know Ryan's your brother and all and I know you'd probably hate me forever if I caused Ryan any sort of hurt…"

"No, I wouldn't hate you," Sharpay interjected.

"Really?" Troy asked.

"No. I'd kill you."

Troy laughed lightly. "Anyways, I don't wanna hurt Ryan but I just have a feeling that in the end, I will," he finished.

"If that's the case, I think there's something the two of you really need to talk about," Sharpay stated.

"What's that?" Troy questioned.

"Gabi's future," Sharpay replied before driving off.

_Gabi's future?_ Troy thought in confusion. The drama queen wasn't making any sense.

Shaking it off, Troy pulled out of the parking and drove down the street.

Sharpay was right, though. He did need to talk to Ryan about Gabriella. About if them staying together was the best for Gabriella at the moment. About what Ryan could do to put more effort into his relationship with her without giving up on his dream of acting. Of course, love does take sacrifice. And Ryan still hasn't learned that part yet.

Troy's cell phone rang and he dug it out of his bag when he stopped at a red light. Checking the caller ID, he quickly answered. "Gabi?"

"No, Taylor," came the voice of Gabriella's 'kinda, sorta' friend, Taylor McKessie. The two were friends. But Gabriella made it pretty obvious that she wasn't about to get close to her.

"Oh. Hey Taylor. What's up?" Troy asked as he pulled into his driveway.

"Gabi's having, like, a nervous breakdown right now," Taylor informed.

Troy stopped the car suddenly. "What!?"

"Calm down, Mr. Overprotective. She's not dieing."

"No, she's just having a nervous breakdown!"

"Ok, Troy, you're blowing this out of proportion," Taylor stated.

Troy took a deep breath to prevent himself from snapping. "Does she want me to come over?" he asked.

Taylor placed the mouthpiece of the phone to her shoulder to keep Troy from hearing her. She looked down at the sobbing Gabriella. "You want Troy to come over?" she questioned.

Gabriella looked up at her, tears rolling down her face. She nodded.

"Yeah. She does," Taylor said to Troy.

"Ok. I'm coming over," Troy stated as he pulled back out of his driveway.

"Alright. See ya soon."

"See ya. And see if you can try to calm her down."

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

"Taylor!" Troy scolded.

"Ok, ok! Just trying to lighten the mood," Taylor defended.

"I'm not in the mood for mood lightening."

"Obviously."

"Just calm her down!"

"Fine!"

Troy hung up angrily and sped off down the street.

* * *

"Ok, Gabi, come on. What's wrong?" Taylor asked desperately as she sat down next to her.

Gabriella looked at her, her cheeks stained with tears, her eyes red and puffy. "I…I…" The tears came harder and faster the more she tried to explain what was wrong.

Taylor pulled her into a hug. Gabriella pushed her away.

"What?" Taylor questioned.

"I want Troy," Gabriella whimpered.

Taylor sighed.

A few minutes later, Gabriella's door burst open and Troy stumbled into the room. Gabriella jumped and looked at Troy.

"Troy," she choked and she scrambled off her bed and into Troy's arms. He held her close, rubbing her back soothingly.

Taylor stood up and walked over to the two. She placed a hand on Troy's shoulder and said, "I think you've got things under control. I'll just leave you two alone."

"Thanks, Tay," Troy whispered.

Taylor smiled and left.

Troy lifted Gabriella into his arms and carefully sat down on her bed, cradling her in his arms. He kissed her forehead. "It's ok, Gabi. Everything's alright," he whispered.

"No it's not," she sobbed and looked up at him. "Nothing's alright. Troy, I've got nothing. My parents are gone, Ryan's off somewhere with Sharpay…I'm alone."

"No. No, sweetie, you're not," Troy said. He stroked her hair. "You've got me."

Gabriella smiled lightly. She saw Troy lean closer to her. She swallowed hard and looked down.

Troy bit his lip and backed away from her. "So, um…" He cleared his throat. "You ok?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Thanks, Troy."

"Anytime." Troy kissed the top of her head, gently laid her down on the bed, and left, closing the door behind him.

Gabriella sighed. She knew she wanted to kiss Troy back. She just couldn't. She was still dating Ryan, after all. And she couldn't do that to him, no matter what may be going on between them.

Troy climbed into his car and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. _I'm an idiot!_ he kept repeating in his head. He tried to kiss her! What was he thinking!? _I'm a stupid, love-sick puppy!_

Sighing, Troy started his car and drove away, thinking about nothing except Gabriella.

* * *

**like it?  
hate it?  
thought the trailer was better? lol!  
trust me, this gets WAY better!! after all, this is just the first chapter!!  
as for Prom Night, WORKING ON IT!! i'm kinda stuck right now! but here is a bit of a sneak peak at what happens!!**

**Sharpay fights with Jessie as they put last minute details on the prom  
The girls get ready!!  
Chad asks Troy for advice on something he's been wanting to do for a long time  
Detective Samuels breaks the news to Uncle Dave and Aunt Julie...but it's too late.**

**what do you think? looking forward to the next chapter? hope so!!  
now...review!! please and thank you!! lol!**


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